US police are selling seized phones with personal data still on them

Mobile phones seized in US criminal investigations are being sold online with personal data like emails, bank details and nude photos intact. Security experts warn that the practice enables hackers to buy phones and commit the same crimes as the previous owner, with the same data and victims.

Various US states have laws allowing police forces to dispose of lost-and-found items if they aren’t collected within a certain time, as well as devices that were used in criminal investigations or …